What Leaving Cert points did you get and what path did you take?

take everything

BrianD3 wrote: »

Looks like I hit a nerve there. In actual fact, you have no idea of the details of the discusssions I had with other people boasting about their children's' points, running down mine and others' points who did the LC years earlier and reacting badly when the possibility of grade inflation is brought up.

Grade inflation is pretty much undisputed as you say. Project maths, the whole erasing of the concept of failure. The percentage of firsts or just honours in college.

Ridiculous to suggest kids are getting smarter.

/awaits someone mentioning the Flynn effect. Eh no grade inflation is a reality outside of any insignificant effect from that.

smurgen

400+

ciaradx wrote: »

500 points. Did a BSc in Genetics and I'm about to finish my PhD in Cancer Biology.

I'm glad I went down this route but the PhD has been particularly tough. I'm not really sure what road to go down next but I'm sort of looking forward to having no set plans like I've had the last few years.

Very impressive. Must be great to do something truely benificial for society and make a living at the same time.jealous to say the least!

DvB

I didn't do the Leaving Cert

Cant remember my points total, did my LC in 89, got 2 A's & 4b's on Honours papers, so whatever total that was... 50 sticks in my head so maybe it was that (suspect it was 48 though)... doesnt matter anyway. Bizarrely I dont remember working particularly hard, I was very strong at maths so did that, Physics & applied maths, all of which gave me time to 'study' the other subjects a bit more... (Tech drawing, English & History... less said about Irish the better)

Wanted to get into Architecture but hadnt got the points that year (did a poor interview & aptitude test), ended up doing a level 7 dip in Architectural Technology in Bolton Street (was determined to work in architecture in some form) then went to Queens in Belfast to get my B.Arch.
Worked for 2 well known Architectural firms over the years (was tough getting a break into it funnily enough as it was pre boom)... then did a post grad diploma in Project management at Trinity in the early noughties, moved to a smaller, expanding firm & found I really enjoyed the fire safety side of the design, drifted into looking after cleanroom, industrial & science sector projects & in these the fire safety design became more complicated but far more interesting, finding I wanted a more formal qualification in that area I ended up doing another post grad diploma in trinity doing fire safety & have been working as a fire safety consultant & project architect for an engineering firm for the last 6 years... the fire safety side was about 30-40% of the job, but since grenfell tower has been upped to about 70-80%... I'm hoping the fire safety side stays strong as its the part I find most satisfying.

Looking back, the aptitude test for architecture was probably spot on, I much prefer the technical & PM side of the role, the more aesthetic stuff held little interest, hence drifing into the more technical based side of things... shame I didnt cop it earlier on as i'd have loved to do a degree in fire safety engineering in hindsight.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

valoren

I got 490 in 1998 and it was mixed emotions for me. I got my first choice course but would have liked to have broken 500 points. Looking back I was placing unrealistically high expectations and thus more pressure on myself which definitely impacted me when actually doing the exams. I have always hated taking exams even now as a result.

The culprit for not breaking 500 boils down to the Accounting exam. I got a C3. I was expecting at a minimum a B1 and lost 25 points as a result. You see our teacher was regarded as one of, if not the best Accounting teacher in the country. He had written sample exam books, charged a premium for grinds and had an imperious record for past Leaving Certs. The majority of the class would get A's. No mean feat. His approach was basically to treat the exam as a giant Sudoku puzzle. You wouldn't have an iota what any of it actually meant, but once you knew his 'sudoku-esque' tricks you would get an A guaranteed. I'd planned on a minimum B1. I suspect this aroused envy in his peers. He was really coining it with the grinds. However, there was one chink in the armor. Costing. A sub section of the curriculum that popped up every 4 years or so in Section C of the paper. Our teacher never covered it. He didn't have to. If it came up we would do the other question in Section C. This meant that for me to get at least a B1 now, the rest of my exam had to be flawless. Unfortunately, knowing I couldn't do Section C induced a panic in me and I ended up with a C3 and was peeved.

Our year was different. Section C not only had a costing question, it had two costing questions. Game over man. Section C was worth 20%, so in effect we were marked at 80%. Nobody knew how to do either question as we were not taught Accounting at all. He was devastated. I truly think it was done on purpose to shaft him, he was that successful.

I went on to do an IT/Commerce hybrid degree called 'Business Information Systems'. To be honest, I never applied myself as I should have done. After the exam-centric focus in Secondary, the freedom in third level went to my head. I'm a lazy git at the best of times anyway. I did the necessary and got my degree but never liked the course itself. I understand programming but it's something I would never have a passion for.

The course was too much of a little bit of this and that for me. A bit of accounting, a bit of economics, then some programming. It was a jack of all trades master of none kind of degree. Ironically, I should have done Accounting. I'd have left college actually able to do something but sudoku tricks of the trade weren't to be.

When we started in 98, we were effectively told that a job in IT was a guarantee for us. When we graduated in 2002 and with the combined dotcom bust, and the post 9/11 recession in place, I couldn't get a job with any of the big employers. Places were thin on the ground and only the best first class honour's guys managed to secure roles. Programming shy graduates like me would never make the cut. My confidence took a major hit.

I spent the following years working in IT support absolutely hating it with a passion. I eventually secured a role in my current position which allowed me to work abroad and accrue some great experience. It's IT-testing automation and funnily enough we spent about 30 seconds in 4 years of college talking about 'testing' in IT. Have worked on projects with the likes of Lloyds TSB, JP Morgan, AIB, Bank of Ireland and even a stint in Anglo.

If there's one thing I've learned then it's certainly that it's not what you know, it's who you know. That's not a slight against anyone who is brilliant at what they do. It's a note on the importance of networking.

300 or less

I legitmately don't remember how I did in my Leaving. But I know I did pretty bad(ish). Over 300, but less than 400.

It wasn't until I was in college that I realised it was down to the fact that the rote learning associated more with secondary school doesn't suit me at all. I did poorly in school, but absolutely excelled in college.

Creative83

I did mine under an older system

The poll doesn't tally well with the official statistics.

Seems people may be exaggerating their points somewhat

arccosh

I did mine under an older system

mini_Sapphire wrote: »

The poll doesn't tally well with the official statistics.

Seems people may be exaggerating their points somewhat

or mainly just the braggy "I did crap with my 400 + " points people responding :-P boards.ie isn't exactly the best place to get an accurate demographic sample

justback83

350+

420 - didn't do much from what I remember - and that's not bragging, I was never any good at applying myself. Did a BSc. in Chemistry followed by a PhD - was sure lecturing was the right route for me. Did a post-doc in Australia for a few years. Within the first 6 months I was pretty bloody sure academia was not for me. Have worked in industry since 2013 and moved to Germany...

Muzi5434

300 or less

340 points, didn't work much for it at all!

Chose to do accounting and am now a qualified accountant working in industry. Quite happy

mariaalice

I didn't do the Leaving Cert

Kinda of funny and is a bit of a male thing on boards about high leaving cert points.

Joe who sat beside them in primary school became a plumber and is now doing well that's grand, but they are outraged when someone they know with a mediocre leaving cert or degree is in senior management or CEO because their 500 point was meant to mean the world was theirs.

Martina1991

400+

480 points in 2010.

Got my BSc in Medical Science, started working in a hospital nearly straight away. Did my MSc while working.

I fell on my feet really, finishing college coming out of the recession. Not too many rungs on the promotion ladder but I like my career.

rainbow kirby

450+

I got 570 in 2002. Started a maths degree, did great in first year, collapsed completely in second year, passed the repeats and dropped out in third year. Switched to CS, took a year out before final year, got a 2:1 and did a masters. Took a software QA job straight after I finished my masters, then got my first development job a couple of years later. Have been working in software development roles since, but am now committing the slow career death of a second baby in quick succession.

Gravelly

I didn't do the Leaving Cert

Haven't a clue what I got in modern points, as I did it before they were a thing. Did badly enough - passed everything but underperformed as just wasn't interested, as I thought I wanted to work in the family business. Left school, straight to work in aforementioned family business (which I'd worked in on weekends, holidays, evenings etc. for years). Discovered that I didn't actually like it at all. Grew to dislike it immensely. Stuck it for 3 years before deciding I wanted to go to college after all. Studied engineering, travelled a bit, worked in engineering, gradually, in a very non-linear way, worked my way up the ranks, with occasional falls backwards, did further study, graduated more towards the business than engineering side, and ended up in a very good job that I like a lot.

_Kaiser_

300+

Got 390 if I remember right just over 20 years ago now. I was never the academic type and pressure from my mam to do higher everything didn't help.

Didn't get my first choice (or I should say - my mother's first choice!) but spent 2 years doing a course in Carlow anyway. This also helped bring me out of my shell as until that point I was pretty shy. While waiting on the 3rd year I was contacted by one of the big-name multinationals who had been in the college that year about a job there which I accepted.

Very quickly moved up and was there 7 years in different roles. Moved to another multinational for a year and then spent just under 5 years in the public sector building and running the IT department until the recession forced them to make me redundant

Took a year of looking, but got back into the private sector and been here since.

These days I run a global IT department, with responsibility for procurement, service management, helpdesk, and managing a team of agents. Not bad overall I think.

_Kaiser_

300+

Avatar MIA wrote: »

Probably good for the brain to keep it challenged.

With that said if I had to significantly update my profession every few years I'd rather eat the books.

This is why I got out of the hands-on side of IT.

I found that to be able to keep current, I'd need to invest considerable time and money each year to be able to compete with the graduates who could do the job for a lot less.

This wasn't practical for several reasons (money, home life and long hours as it was), so instead I decided to focus more on the management aspects of my then role and work towards that side of things, figuring it would also be more transferable if needed.

So far so good. I've moved into different industries and moved up every time, but my hands-on background has definitely helped in terms of understanding the challenges and needs of the team I now manage.

Boom_Bap

I got 964 points and became master of the universe, wasn't into it, so became a computer nerd instead.

Gravelly

I didn't do the Leaving Cert

Boom_Bap wrote: »

I got 964 points and became master of the universe, wasn't into it, so became a computer nerd instead.

You know what they say, the geek shall inherit the earth.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

razorblunt

300+

Can't recall if it was 390/395/405.
The course I wanted was new, so was estimated to ~ 380 points so I knew I was safe, they made offers rather than being an official course at the time, it was strange.

Ended up getting my 3rd choice course (the new course was a fallback for those 3). Due to personal circumstances I didn't really throw myself into it, firmly believing I'd be repeating it anyway. I decided to take this 3rd choice (Comp Science) rather than the new one.

Left at Xmas of 2nd year, went back through the CAO to take that "new" course which I had the points for, loved it, worked hard as it was actually what I had a passion for and haven't looked back since ... yet.

Noveight

400+

I got 470 points.

I've since completed a BA and am now in the 2nd year of my PME, all in the hope of being a qualified secondary teacher this time next year.

The path I chose hasn't been ideal. My BA was 4 years and the PME is 2, so it'll have been 6 years in college to be a teacher which I believe is unnecessary. This is heightened by the fact that one year of my BA was spent on placement as a classroom assistant for €50/week and I will complete over 30 weeks of unpaid placement over the course of the PME as well.

Oh well, I am where I am and I'm looking forward to getting finished and finally getting stuck in to teaching.

bodice ripper

450+

I got 510. I did Classical Civilization and Philosophy in Trinity, and then dropped out to do Fine Art. I bitterly regret that, but I did finish the Fine Art degree. Then I did an apprenticeship and am now a tattoo artist.

Avatar MIA

bodice ripper wrote: »

and am now a tattoo artist.

And ripper of bodices ...

Andrewf20

350+

440 points for me and I did art as an 8th subject. Did a mechatronic engineering degree many moons ago. Tough course and I was glad it finished when it did.

bodice ripper

450+

Avatar MIA wrote:

And ripper of bodices ...

I didn't need any tuition for that, I am a natural.

qwerty ui op

95
Dunnes Stores - Hygiene Department

ToddyDoody

350+

290 on first sitting, 425 on second. Did science, then applied science and now work in quality.

irishman86

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

The fact they doubled could easily mean better education, in fact i'd be certain the education now is well at least double the standard it was back then

foxy farmer

300+

Back in 92 i got 380 pts. I had put civil engineering in Cork RTC (showing my age:) ) as my first choice. Think the points were 320. I really didn't kill myself in the leaving as about 2 weeks before, i was accepted into an electrical apprenticeship in the ESB. That was based on Inter Cert results.
In 94 my uncle died and I inherited a farm. Finished the apprenticeship in 96. Did wel in the trade exams. Did a 6 month contract as an electrician with ESB until april 97. Went farming full time after that. Never did any agricultural related course but read a few books and learned as I went along. Thats what pays the bills today.
I don't think I was cut out for full time third level. More at home doing manual work. Paperwork and sitting indoors don't appeal to me.

Spider Web

350+

arccosh wrote: »

or mainly just the braggy "I did crap with my 400 + " points people responding :-P boards.ie isn't exactly the best place to get an accurate demographic sample

What I don't get is people saying "I got 500 points and didn't do much work" - that's not possible! Why do people feel the need to say such a thing? Maybe they have set the bar unusually high as to what "Very little work" means. Maybe they picked the easiest subjects, but you'd still have to do more than just a little work.